VSONIC VSD1S

Relatively new in the quest for THE IEM's which will suit my classical taste, I've just started looking for what cheap in-ears sound like. After the terrible DZAT DF10, I convinced myself there is no such thing as a cheap great sounding pair of IEM's.
I was almost wrong. Of course, they don't have the mids refinement and details of my Shure SE425 but for 1/10th of the price, Oh my god, they sound very well sorted out ! A very confortable experience in any way.
You don't feel them, too bad for the noisy cable. The slighty enhanced bass are well controlled, don't bleed. The timbres quality are respectable which counter balance the relatively lack of space. They just miss a little sparkle in the highs.
Overall; they deliver a fatigueless well balanced smooth experience, a very surprising sense of unity, nothing sticks out, no audible bump.
These are my first Vsonic's and I can tell they know how to build phones. I can't wait to order the GR07 !
Comply T-200's fit perfectly and add a little bit more clarity.
Good job V-Sonic.
 
Update : after a week of heavy use, I now can say that the microphonics are almost unbearable and as you cannot properly pass the cable over the ear, I just can't walk the dog with them !
I may mention I own the latest version with the straight plug.

Hey guys. I hope you're having a wonderful day. This is my first review, and it's safe to say I'm excited!

Today I'm gonna be doing an initial review of the Vsonic VSD1S. These are one of my new favorite IEMs. Not because they have the best sound quality. Not because the have the best build quality. But because they combine good sound quality, and good build quality, all at a really good price (<$40). And that leads me to wonder why there are so distinctly few reviews of these headphones.

To begin the review portion, I'll speak to the elephant in the room. They have Comic Sans on them. While comic sans indeed serves a purpose, it probably shouldn't be on good headphones. But this actually serves a good purpose. I'm going into college in a few weeks, so it is safe to say that I'm going to have some malicious "young adults" stealing my well earned property. But luckily Comic Sans serves has the same qualities as a pubic hair when you put it on a valuable (see http://www.cc.com/video-clips/53l4ba/important-things-with-demetri-martin-pube-safe). No thieving youngsters for me!

The second reason I bought them for college is their durability. They are substantial. Especially compared to other IEMs built of plastic in their price bracket or even higher *COUGH Shure SE215 COUGH*. These don't have a removable cable, no. But they have damn good strain-reliefs. So I'm not worried about the connections going out any time soon. Nor am I worried about the cable fraying. It's a good cable!

But one of the coolest features of the headphones is the pivoting nozzle. This is a feature that is becoming more and more popular, but not popular enough, because it is wonderful. This leads me to comfort.

They lay relatively flush with your head when laying on your side. That being said, it's still a little uncomfortable. It comes with 3 pairs of single flange eartips, and one double. The fit for me is pretty good with the large eartip. But that's not the real problem with the fit for me. The problems are the housings themselves. They push against the ridge of my ear, right above the entrance to the canal. It's hard to describe, but it hurts after a while, then it feels fine, because it goes numb. But that being said, the build quality is much better than the comfort.

Now. Sound quality. This is where you have to take it with a grain of salt, as this is an initial review. It could sound totally different tomorrow.

Yes. Skeptics can cover their ears if they want and move to the next paragraph, but I do believe in burn-in. It is evident by the ATH IM70's. They sounded like ass... No. They sounded like free airplane earbuds from a discount airliner. Nah'so'good. But a week of burn in each night made them sound a lot less like ass, but still not great. But still! A testament to what burn-in can do!

So. What do I have to say about the sound upon the third day of having them?

First I'm just gonna get soundstage out of the way. These are earphones. They are decently wide, but not great. And the instrument separation isn't fantastic. But it's not like I'm gonna be mixing an EP with them. So give 'em a break.

And before you read any further, I'm gonna be talking about EQ settings a lot. I'm sorry audio purists, but please keep reading.

Bass is not abundant, but it is nice and balanced. But never-fear bass-heads! It handles a bass-boost like a champ! In songs like "Say My Name (feat. Zyra)" by Odesza, the bass drum initially sounds alright, but boost it and it sounds punchy but resonant. In the intro to "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys, the bass guitar sounds a little restrained, but clear nevertheless. You can hear the distortion of the amp.

Mids are there. But vocals are recessed. Especially upper range female vocals. Like in Portishead's "Glory Box". Beth Gibbons is quite masked by the lower mids. Although this is a serious bummer, I can live with it. I honestly prefer a subtle V shaped frequency response, with a tilt towards the treble. But, again, the beautiful thing about these headphones is that they handle EQ brilliantly. Boost those mids!

The highs can make or break a headphone for me. I LOOOVE clarity, perhaps a little too much. I LOOOVE an analytical, but slightly fun sound. And these headphones are decent. Better than decent, but not my favorite. They seem to have the eversopopular smoothed off highs that many have grown to love. I am not one of them. But, I know how lame this sounds, they handle EQ almost too well. In Terrence Blanchard's "Levees", the highs seemed a little too tame. But when I pushed up the highs a little, the whole experience changed. They turned from lackluster buds into sparkly and detailed IEMs.

Now. If you have read to the end of this review you may think "My god, this guy has no sense of decency when it comes to using an equalizer!" To that I say, it's because these are so good at taking it, that it makes me want to use it to make them MY earphones. They sound rather lackluster, and dry until you add it, but when I did, they made me happy.

I hope you enjoyed my first review!

VSONIC VSD1S: Kaboom for your buck: The all-rounder prodigy.

This review is delayed, but only because they were a gift to someone. Only recently have I had given them an extended listen. Extended indeed.​

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Vsonic needs no introduction as they have, year upon year, released bang for buck IEMs that turn into instant recommendations. That is until they up the ante again.​

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This is my first Vsonic IEM and was excited to try it after going through the all favourable reviews on Head-fi and Vsonic’s proclamation: “Baby brother of the famed GR07 series”.​

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I(unfortunately) have not tried the legendary GR07, which even today, over 3 years after its release, is still widely recommended for its sound and value. I was torn between the HiFiMAN RE400 and the GR07, and decided to give Dr. Fang a chance. A decision that transformed my journey, though I do have a feeling I would have loved the GR07 too. The GR07 has recently been given a boost with the release of the GR07 classic, which is basically identical to the GR07 but at the magic 99$ mark. So, the 99$ market is well catered to. The 50$ bracket had a few players at the time in the form of the Steelseries Flux, Vsonic's own GR02 silver, Sony MH1C, etc.​

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Enter Vsonic; VSD1 and VSD1S in tow: 90% of the GR07 at 50$. Hype ensued, sustained and bang-for-buck status attained.​

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There are quite a few reviews that describe in detail, the build, accessories and comfort. I will briefly describe this section and move on to the Sound.​

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Build, accessories and comfort:​

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The plastic housing is light and has a good feel to it, although the comic sans lettering is far from classy. The metal swivel nozzles ooze quality and the cable looks like it can take a beating. I must point out that despite their over-ear appearance, the VSD1/S is equally comfortable worn up/down. The light housing and swivel nozzles contribute hugely. Plus, they include ear-guides for those tricky situations.​

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A decent number of tips are included with the VSD1S, that will tip roll you into a good fit. I particularly like the Vsonic foam tips. They are denser than comply memory foam tips, but very comfortable. And unlike comply, they do not alter the sound(for me at least). One important thing to note is that the nozzle is thinner that most earphones, ruling out tip swapping from other earphones (unless they have a slim nozzle too)​

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Microphonics:cable down is below average and non-existent when worn cable up. I observed no driver flex whatsoever.​

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Sound:​

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Source: LG G2, Sansa Clip Zip, Asus Ultrabook. The VSD1S is easily driven to ear splitting volumes and respond well to EQ. All tracks were >256kbps.​

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The overall signature​

is V shaped. But the V is not drastic and therefore plays well with all genres.​

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The bass​

is bumped over neutral with good presence. Not very linear though, with a gradual boost up to the midbass before dropping in the lower mids. The sub-bass is felt at average listening volumes, has a natural decay and is of better quality (read: control) than the mid-bass. The midbass keeps things lively. However the drop in upper mids is more evident as a result.​

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The mids​

are not strictly recessed. They sit a row behind the ensemble and are sufficiently accurate and clear. The upper mids are gradually more emphasized (a trend which continues into the treble range). Female vocals are more intelligible than male vocals. In tracks that do not have much midbass presence, the mids really shine through and show how capable the VSD1S midrange is.​

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Having read reports of sibilance on the GR07, I was pleasantly surprised to note that this wasn't a major issue on the VSD1S and was forgiving enough. Yes,​

the treble​

is emphasized, and on occasion does overstep the line, but only when the recording contains stressed ttt’s or shhhh’s. In short, the VSD1S treble is not a deal breaker. On the contrary, it made the IEM more enjoyable.​

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The soundstage​

does not leave you wanting, with average depth and above average width. Stereo imaging is convincing and is helped further by high bitrate audio.​

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This must give you a picture of what makes the VSD1S a great IEM. It is versatile. It has a V shaped sig that has been flattened out a bit, allowing it to handle anything thrown at it with aplomb.
It truly is amazing considering the price-point, and sometimes makes you forget that it only costs < 50$.​

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Now for some subjective drivel:​

 
 

I am a self-diagnosed mid-head. Blame HiFiMAN. Also I am slightly treble sensitive, meaning that I am less tolerant to sibilance. I was weary of Vsonic’s trademark sound and wondered if the VSD1S was right for me. But this was meant to be gifted, and who wouldn’t want 90% of the GR07 at 50$. I barely got to listen to them for a few minutes before I had to gift-wrap it. My mind, expecting a V shaped sound with sibilance thrown in was pleasantly surprised. I was intrigued, but sadly they were out of my hands soon thereafter. And over the next months all I heard was “Thank you so much! They sound amazing”. And over the past month I see where that came from and have grown attached to the VSD1S. Rest assured I have stolen it back and replaced the gift with my MH1C.​

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Am I satisfied? Not entirely (who is though?). The mids irritate me on certain tracks. I usually use the mids to volume match and therefore end up with a volume setting that makes my head sound like a club. If I had to 'fix' the VSD1S, I'd like to pull the midbass back a bit, a very very slight controlled boost in the sub bass, work in some depth to the soundstage.​

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My RE400 is not allowed to leave the house (build concerns), and this is excellent on the move. They isolate well, are light, and sound spectacular with all my “fun” music. I actually prefer it over the RE400 for certain genres.​

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Product link: Here
A big thank you to Hifinage for binging Vsonic to India. Shipping was super-fast, decent pricing and pre and post purchase customer care is top notch.​